


The Side Quests

by Shinocchi



Category: DRAMAtical Murder (Visual Novel), DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - RPG, Choose Your Own Adventure, Gift Fic, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-28
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-09-27 11:54:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 19,711
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10019687
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shinocchi/pseuds/Shinocchi
Summary: All the residents in the Old Lands ever wanted is a peaceful life, despite the chaotic mess the kingdom of Midorjima is thrown in. Living in a peaceful town with his grandmother, Seragaki Aoba works in a shop, enjoys life that's nothing more than a few minor wild beasts attack, until when his grandmother is taken away by whom he believes to be Lord Toue, the ruler of Midorijima, that his life takes a 180 degrees turn.Now he needs to join force with strange people he meets during his journey, and embarks on an adventure to save his grandmother, which then leads to a self-discovery voyage that he never anticipates to lie beyond him.A story based onCyna's wonderful RPG AU - Drama Quest!





	1. The Journey Starts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cynabrum](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=cynabrum).
  * Inspired by [Drama Quest](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/269210) by cynabrum. 



> This story is written based on [Cyna's wonderful RPG AU - Drama Quest](http://paper-bag-with-holes.tumblr.com/tagged/DMMd-RPG-AU), which you could find [here](http://paper-bag-with-holes.tumblr.com/tagged/DMMd-RPG-AU) on her blog! This is also a birthday gift dedicated specially for Cyna, who has been an amazing friend, an inspiring creator, and above all, a wonderful person overall. Instead of birthday, I'll be writing and updating this within a week, so happy birthweek, Cyna! Thank you so much for being one of the best friends I could ever ask for <3
> 
> The flow of the story will take one as below:  
> Prologue > Koujaku's Story > Noiz's Story > Mink's Story > Clear's Story > Epilogue.
> 
> Please drop by Cyna's blog to check out the original root of this story and please send love to her for creating something so spellbindingly amazing.

 

Nothing in Midorijima had been peaceful. It’s just how the era was. Everything was a chaotic mess; all that everyone could do was to hold themselves trampled enough so as to ensure that nothing in this jumbled up war would upset too much of their wellbeing. Apart from Mother Nature’s persistent howling of pandemonium, there were also beasts, prowling in the depth of forests as they hunted for whatever they could fill the hollow in their stomach. It was a period of unsettling clashes but yet it was also an era where the simplest of life could be found in the minutest of place.

And the simplest of life, minutest of place was where Seragaki Aoba lived – peaceful, stable, doing nothing but odd jobs to sustain the need of his family, a life many yearned for. His grandmother was the only remaining sibling he had, his life was everything he would do to protect. Despite modest, it was safe, at the very least. Despite less than extravagant, it was a blissful life. It was everything he ever needed.

But being one of the many minuscule existences in this era of unpredictability, he should’ve known that the peace he was experiencing now was probably just a deception of the huge wave of storms about to hit its way to home. And when it did, it caught him off guard, hauled him into a mess he never wanted to be involved with, yet now left with no choice but to confront it. He was excellent in fights, having trained himself up just so he could protect his grandmother when needed. His sense of direction wasn’t impressive, but that was also why he had Ren by his side, his talking, loyal dog whom had guided him whenever necessary, a partner he’d never been more grateful to befriend with. He found Ren in a forest one day when he was out hunting, lying by the foot of a tree, wounds bleeding. His impulsive self had then brought him home, where he tended his scars and eventually leading to keeping him by his side. A talking dog wasn’t common in where he lived, but he’d come to acknowledge that the world was too huge for him to comprehend the whole of it; he was very much pleased to know that he’d had the fortune to come across something so outlandishly peculiar that was a blessing of its own.

Perhaps that was how the drift of life was prepping him for this day – when he found himself needing to endeavour his way out of his comfort zone, out of his tiny village, and exploring the humongous world outside. Perhaps then, despite the mild frustration he had experienced when he found himself having to face such a vast hustle, this was the opportunity he needed to go through, finally breaking through the shell he’d confined himself in.

When his grandmother – Tae – was kidnapped, he thought his dream of living a peaceful life was an unfeasible aim, after all. It was a challenge that was obviously targeted at him. But this was such a weighty mission that he couldn’t help but stutter once every while, irresolute, and finding it hard to move forward without first taking some time off to clear his mind.

 _It’s pathetic_ , he once thought. He was clear with what he was supposed to do but he wasn’t ready for it. The world was a gigantic place, a fact that he was very much aware of it; there were more than ghastly creatures lurking in corners he was to venture into. But at the end of the day, when his resolution reached its peak, he’d come to realize how fortunate he was – because like how he’d picked up Ren, the many warriors he had the blessing to meet were ones that had become the greatest supports for this new journey of his.

 

He woke up with a start, sweating profusely, the voice of the person speaking to him in his dream still echoing in his ears. It’d been a long time since he had this recurring dream – a princess, speaking to him, asking for his help. And every time he woke, he’d always feel this peculiar out-of-body experience as if he’d just voyaged through half the globe when he’s asleep. His body would feel sore, his head whirred with words the princess told him for a good one hour. His dream never made sense, but he knew that it’d always carry some sort of message, probably something that was even a tip-off to how he could save his grandmother.

Lifting himself off the bed, he wiped sweat off his forehead, still trying to come back to himself. He took a deep breath, the uncommon stillness in his house befuddling him greatly as he walked and came to look at himself in the mirror. His reflection was one of worn-out, but definitely held a light of determination he was hopeful to see. Slapping his hands on both sides of his face, he muttered a quick “ _buck up, Aoba_ ” before he hurried into the kitchen to make himself a simple breakfast.

The house felt way too quiet without his grandmother – he was way too used to how his grandmother would wake him up with loud clanking sounds of pans hitting against each other, accompanied by garish roar of her voice that would effectively heave him out of bed. Now, all that was in the house was the sound of him munching on his breakfast – potatoes with eggs – and how even the surrounding around him was way too quiet even for his own liking.

He looked at himself in the mirror again after a hasty check of his bag and a speedy lift of his sword from the corner of his room. There’s nothing to be afraid of. This was the only decision that was right for him – he was to travel out of this small village, out of his comfort zone, and into a journey to rescue the only person who was the most important to him.

“Go on, Aoba,” he spoke to himself, reminding himself in his reflection, then elating a bright smile, holding his lifted spirit in place.

Upon walking out of the house, he was immediately greeted by four men – one leaning against a tree, smoking on his smoking pipe, one sitting on a stone, humming blithely under his breath, another meddling with two tiny bunnies he’d summoned and the last one, who grinned perkily upon seeing him, and whom walked towards him in swift strides.

“Aoba!”

“Hey, Koujaku,” he responded, attempted a smile. “Everyone’s here, too.”

“We said we’d help you, didn’t we?” Koujaku smirked tastefully. His childhood friend was the first person who’d offered his help when he found out what had happened. He was also the same person who’d rushed to his house after midnight, finding Aoba still awake, just to tell him that everything would be fine and that he’d do everything he could do save Tae.

Aoba was always grateful of him – Koujaku had always been someone he looked up to, after all. Being a Knight, he wore hefty shiny armours that would always swoon ladies effortlessly wherever he went. But he was also outstandingly strong, in all senses, regardless of his appearance or his strength. It wasn’t at all surprising of how people in town would come to respect him, Aoba included.

“Thank you so much,” Aoba beamed, eyeing the others just fleetingly before he gave Koujaku a playful punch against his shoulder. “I feel very much reassured that you’d be here with me.”

“No problem at all. I want Tae-san to come back safely too,” Koujaku grinned. “Anyway, we’re all ready to move, how about you?”

Aoba looked around, catching sight of the other three men from behind Koujaku. Noiz, the person who was tampering with his bunny familiars earlier, was now staring intensely at him, his bunnies gone, all that was left was his deadpan aura. Being a mage, Noiz had always been bearing this uncharacteristic air around him, the vibe of it strong enough to tell others of how potentially strong a caster he could be. And yet, Aoba still found it endearing when he started summoning rabbits to fight for him. He’d always brush Aoba off whenever Aoba was to point it out to him, telling him that it was only because that the bunnies were part of the guild he was in that he had to do it. But Aoba could tell from the way he averted eye contact with him, alongside the way he scowled, that he wasn’t being completely truthful with him either. He’s quiet, Aoba could barely tell what’s in his mind, but he definitely held good intentions, the mere fact that he was here, being part of his traveling group, had told Aoba enough – even though he’d reaffirmed that he was far more interested in Ren than the mission itself.

Then there’s Mink, who’d kept his smoking pipe away and mounted his knives into their holders around his belt while they spoke. Truth be told, Mink intimidated him when they first met – his sturdy, vast physique was one thing, but above that, it was the searing pair of gaze when he looked at Aoba, visibly judging him, alongside his destructive head-on fighting skills that had Aoba stepping a step back whenever he was to be engaged in a combat. Mink was hard to know, but despite his lack of words, he always knew when the right time to say the right thing was, something that had always towed Aoba out of his slump with ease. The longer he came to know Mink, the less afraid he was towards him. And in due course, it was one time when he found out how Mink often used his spare time to make jewelleries out of elusive ornaments that the wall of defence he held up against Mink crushed into nothingness.

And last of all – Clear, a bard whom he’d met in the forest, who didn’t even notice his existence when Aoba bumped into him and who merely hummed happily to melodies Aoba had no idea of. He was drawn towards him from the day he met him – his song, his bright smile, his overall cheerful aura. It’s like a fresh air in the midst of the miasma he was so used to be submerged in. Needless to say, they easily became good acquaintance, then friends, and now, he’s right here, lending a hand without much conviction needed. Aoba hadn’t been seeing him in action a lot but there must be a reason to how he could appear so carefree in such way – he must’ve gone through a lot himself too, and Aoba could find no reason to suspect him, even when he knew literally nothing about him.

With a relieved smile, he walked towards the rest of them, bowing.

“Thank you very much for tagging along, I appreciate it very much.”

“What are you talking about, Aoba-san! We’re glad to help!” Clear sprang towards him, already breaking the solemn atmosphere with his joyful voice.

“Ahaha, thank you,” Aoba chuckled. The other two didn’t respond much but they didn’t seem like they’re about to go against their words either. As Aoba smiled at Noiz, he looked away, pretending to be tending to his staff, while Mink simply released a truncated shrug before he turned his back towards them.

“Let’s move then, we’re wasting too much time here,” he said.

“You’re right,” Aoba responded. “Thank you to you too, Koujaku, for helping out.”

“Don’t mention it. I can’t sit around doing nothing. We’re friends, aren’t we?”

Adjusting the sword on his back, he straightened himself up, took one last look at his cabin then muttered a quiet ‘ _see you soon_ ’.

He probably won’t be returning here any time soon. He couldn’t tell how long this journey would take him, or if he’d ever come back in one piece. The realization left a weight in his chest as he strode further and further away from his house, from his village. But at the same time, there’s this wild sense of exhilaration from within him that he knew was stanched from pure excitement. It’s definitely not going to be an easy journey from now on, but he did it – he’d taken his first step out of his comfort zone.

Not alone, but with four other men, alongside Ren, his faithful partner, and he knew that nothing would ever go wrong: they’d save Tae, come back safe and sound, and all that he was anticipating now was an adventure chockfull with both unpredictable risks and exciting new experiences.

 

 


	2. Quest 01: Flame Willow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He thought he knew everything about his childhood friend.  
> But those everything are apparently just the tip of an iceberg.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter focus: Koujaku.

Traveling out of the small village was an experience not quite any other he’d ever experienced before. He halted his steps at the edge of the forest, staring into the darkness ahead, all the time possessing an eerie sense of thought as if the forest was seducing him to enter. He shouldn’t feel at all unfamiliar with the forest now, especially when he practically lived beside one. He put his weight down the earth, soil clasped his boots and gently releasing them with each step he took. The scent of foliage, mixed with the dampness of decay pirouetted through the air, urging him to wipe his nose every so often.

The solitary in the forest was something he’d expected, the crunching thuds of footsteps straggling behind him weren’t. Oftentimes, he’d look behind his shoulder, just to make sure that the others were still following him and lifting stroppy smile at them when one of them noticed that he’d been staring. He wasn’t very much used to company. Above all, he wasn’t even close to his party to begin with. It’s no surprising how out-of-place this setting made him feel.

But it was all made better when Koujaku, who’s riding on a red griffon – Beni – the entire time now, rushed up to him and tapped him on his shoulder.

“Nervous?” he asked. Aoba looked up, right into his upbeat beam, before he sighed.

“A bit, I guess.”

“It can’t be helped,” Koujaku reaffirmed. “It’s your first time having to travel out of home anyway. Besides, I bet you’re more worried about how Tae-san is doing now more than anything else.”

It’s no wonder that Koujaku was his childhood friend. Sometimes he even suspected if Koujaku actually understood him better than he did himself.

“I hope it gets better soon,” Aoba responded. “I can’t be feeling like this all the time.”

“You’ll be fine,” Koujaku chortled, patting him crudely on the shoulder. “You have me – I mean, all of us, anyway,” he ended by glancing at the rest of the party, a face of hesitance.

“Haha, you seem pretty reserved with them, I see,” Aoba badgered, as a mean to lift the spirit of the atmosphere.

“Aoba.” It’s then that Koujaku’s words turned lower, even sounding dangerous. “How do you even know them? I mean…” he paused, taking a quick glance at the others again. “They look pretty dangerous to me.”

“Well…” Aoba trailed off. “Long story. But I don’t think they are bad people.”

“We shall see about that,” Koujaku retorted. “Anyway, let’s find a place to rest for the night, shall we? Do you already have a place in mind that you want to stop by first?”

“I don’t have a concrete clue but I guess we should start somewhere, at the very least. I’m thinking of the next-door region – Flame Willow, is it? – and perhaps we could ask around for information. I’ve heard that they have well-made connection with Oval Castle.”

“Flame Willow… huh? So you’re confident that Tae-san could be in Oval Castle?”

“Hmmm, well, I know she’s been involved with Lord Toue before, but I still want to verify it for myself, I don’t want to come to any conclusion without any solid evidences.”

“I understand, that’s a very you thing to say,” Koujaku laughed. “A lot of things had been happening and time isn’t our friend, either. But don’t worry, we’ll have everything figured out.”

“Thanks, Koujaku,” Aoba returned his grin.

Koujaku was strong, and definitely reliable. Above all, they’d been friends for the longest time now. No one but Koujaku knew how much Tae meant to him. He couldn’t ask for a better support.

“Let’s stop there then, the sky is getting dark,” Koujaku voiced out after a long while, pointing at what seemed to be a cave.

“Are you sure it’s safe in there?” Noiz caught up with their pace, poring over at where Koujaku was pointing, his voice resounded of profound suspicions.

“It’s the only option we have, unless you could conjure a few tents or something,” Koujaku was firmed with his retort. “At least we’ll get some shelter instead of having to sleep in the wild.”

“That means we can make bonfire!” Clear exclaimed animatedly. “Let’s go then!”

“It’s better if we don’t make too big of a fire or else we’ll be—never mind.”

The rest of the party had hurried towards where Koujaku was pointing at, with Clear as the lead, as they prepared to settle for the night. The white shafts of daylight passed as they prepared for the fire, flames rose brazenly against the black sky. Their skin flushed red, orange and gold as they sat around the fire, the crackling and the woody fragrance of smoke a scent too spellbinding for them to look away. They minded their own business for the rest of the night: Mink busied himself with honing his knife sharper, Noiz reading what seemed to be a book of spells, muttering under his breath in a language Aoba had no idea of. Clear sat by the fire, singling frivolously to a melody that was a harmonizing warmth enveloping the solitary of their existence, while both Koujaku and Aoba sat by each other’s side, looking after food that they’d put up for cooking.

“You’re fine with sleeping outside?” Koujaku asked, immediately responded by a frown from Aoba.

“You’re always like that.”

“Like what?”

“Treating me like a child.”

“Haha!” Koujaku cackled, then proceeding to ruffle Aoba on the hair. “I can’t help it. I’ve seen you grow after all.”

“We grew _together_ ,” Aoba corrected.

“I’m still older than you,” Koujaku protested.

Aoba gave up. There’s no way to win Koujaku if he was to play this card with him. They’d been together for the longest time now. He remembered when he was still small the neighbouring children would tend to bully him thanks to the length of his hair, which was something that was deemed unnatural for a boy back then. But that was how he’d come to meet Koujaku too, whom had dashed to his rescue and chased the children away for him. It was then that they started hanging out together, even though it took quite some time for Koujaku to finally find out that he’s not a girl like how his first impression told him. Despite so, they still played with each other habitually, the close proximity between their houses allowed Koujaku to drop by his house for frequent dinners and sleepover whenever he could. But even so, it wasn’t like they’re always together either. Three years after their acquaintance, Aoba lost complete contact with Koujaku, only being told that he’d gone to somewhere further with his mother for some family business. It was one of the loneliest times he’d gone through in his entire life, losing the only friend he’d come to make in this isolated piece of land. And when he’d come to think that perhaps he’d have to cope with this for the rest of his life, Koujaku returned – alone.

Aoba never asked him what happened during his absence; he never considered it a territory he should interfere. Koujaku didn’t seem like he was at all affected by whatever had happened anyway. If any, he was livelier than before, steadier, and for some reason, came to look after Aoba in a way that’s way more affectionate than Aoba remembered him to be.

Something happened, that’s what his intuition told him. But what, exactly, was something Aoba would never know until when Koujaku was ready to tell him about it. He’d wait, he told himself. He wanted to respect Koujaku and he believed that he’d eventually be able to know the truth to the secret Koujaku was keeping away from him now.

“Me aside, are you comfortable with sleeping outside, Mr.Knight?” Aoba teased with a smirk, successfully streaking the grin off Koujaku’s face.

Koujaku -- being a reputable Knight of the Old Lands -- was always seen in every place Aoba could name, helping out the weak, protecting the need. Him being a Knight had always been a title Aoba deemed fitting of him, and despite he himself telling Aoba that it was merely a title, Aoba thought that it was, indeed, a title that was nothing but a reflection of who Koujaku really was.

Come to think about it, he never knew why Koujaku wanted to be a Knight, either.

“What are you talking about?” Koujaku said, slinging an arm around Aoba’s neck and lugging him over. “Precisely because I’m a Knight that I’m ready for any kind of challenges.”

“Any kind, huh?” He’d be ready even if he _wasn’t_ a Knight, though.

“I’ll protect you if you need,” Koujaku chuckled with another rough ruffle on his hair.

“Thank you very much for your offer but I’m perfectly fine protecting myself,” Aoba dodged with a pout.

The rest of the night ended with plumes of grew buffeting into the night sky, carried aimlessly by a chill autumn wind. Conversations were little, words were distractions all of them didn’t need now. Even without speaking, they knew deep down that from this moment of time onwards, their journey had started – one that held risks they would never anticipate.

 

 

Flame Willow was a zone that was once very much out of Aoba’s reach – it was an opulent territory that held of nothing but lavish cities and over-the-top lifestyle Aoba never knew the purpose of. He’d come to consider it as one of the wealthy provinces that he would never want to set his foot in. But today, here he was, standing in front of the arch of the very place, staring in awe as red tarnished a gentle gradient below their feet, the sound of pulsating buzz already whirring him in the ears as they stood, jaws dropped.

Koujaku didn’t seem like he was at all fond with the place either – Aoba could tell as much simply from the displeased expression he wore on his face. A frown was drawn in between his eyebrows, his eyes fixed on the arch and only coming back to himself when Aoba nudged him against the ribs.

“You okay?” he asked, only to be responded by a bitter grin.

“Fine.”

“Is there something wrong with this place?” Aoba wondered out loud.

“… Just some unpleasant memories,” Koujaku admitted. “But don’t worry, it’s been a long time. Besides, we have more important things to focus on.”

So Koujaku knew this place, after all. Asking Aoba to not worry about what he was being bothered of was a task too difficult for him, though. Koujaku’s emotion reflected straightforwardly on his face, and the one he was showing now was definitely not something that Aoba would consider as being pleasant. On a brighter side, at least it’d be easier for them to navigate around then.

The first step into Flame Willow immediately told him that this was no place for him to be. Everyone here seemed to be having the time of their life, as if their world was concealed beneath a barrier that had quarantined them from the pandemonium happening outside of the arch. Sounds of festivals resounded from a far distance, people of embellished costumes danced in the centre of the town, as if celebrating some sort of occasion. Music filled the air, festive rhythms lifted a perturbed sort of spirit, tantalising people surrounding them to move, jump and sing with them. Everything seemed so alive yet so dead, the air savoured so heavenly of a seduction to forget oneself.

“Ugh, I’m not feeling very good with this place,” Aoba groaned.

“The air smells like death,” Mink followed with a frown.

“Let’s find an inn,” Noiz looked around; he seemed completely unaffected, but Aoba could tell as much from the grimace he was wearing on his face that he’d rather leave this place as soon as possible than spending time complaining about it.

“Ren, navigation, please,” Aoba said. He’s starting to feel lightheaded from all the profound odour he’d been taking in since the scented air shrouded them. All he ever wanted now was a place where he could lie down and regulate his breathing back to normal.

“Understood,” Ren responded as he started sniffing around the floor, with the rest of the party following closely from behind him.

The rice omelette they soon found in the inn was like the best thing they’d ever tasted in their life, meritoriously recuperating their energy as they ate sloppily in the dining area. The inn, at the very least, felt very much normal compared to the air outside of it. There were few other travellers in the space, minding their own business as Aoba and his party took up one whole table for themselves. None of them looked like they wanted to be here either.

They said Flame Willow is a town of seduction,” Noiz said halfway through their meal, refilling a bowl of onion soup for one of his rabbit familiars. “It’s no wonder the air is so thick with artificial fragrance.”

“Town of seduction, huh?” Mink muttered. He pulled his smoking pipe out, sipping leisurely on it, his mind full of contemplations.

“But we would need to dig for information, as much as we could,” Aoba reminded.

This was the very first town they’d landed themselves in and there’s no way they’d leave without nothing valuable in their vault, despite how unendurable this place could be.

“We need to see the Chief of this place then,” Koujaku, who had been quiet for some time now, spoke.

“Where can we find him?” Aoba asked.

“Her, more like,” Koujaku corrected.

“You seem to know a lot about this place,” Mink interrupted, heaving a sideway glance at Koujaku’s direction as he did.

Koujaku did mentioned that he held some spiteful memories here but this was no time to be dwelling over this, and Koujaku obviously knew as he said,

“It doesn’t matter, isn’t it? What matters now is to get hold of what we need and get out of here soon.”

Aoba nodded. “He’s right. It’s an advantage we know where to start. Let’s meet this… woman then. Do you know where to find her, Koujaku?”

Koujaku’s scowl deepened, as if reminded of something. With another sigh, he answered,

“She should be in the mansion heading south,” he recounted. “She usually wanders around, though, so I’m not sure if we could catch her this time.”

“Well, we’ll never know if we don’t try, right?” Aoba grinned. “C’mon, Koujaku, finish up your food and we shall get going.”

“Ah…” Koujaku started, seemingly distressed. “I’ll pass on this one. You can go ahead. I’ll head to somewhere else for information in the meantime.”

“You mean to say that you’re moving by yourself now?” Noiz lifted a suspicious tone.

“Brat, you’re far too young to tell me what to do,” Koujaku growled. “I know a person in this place whom I can fish for information. _Valuable_ ones, in fact. I think it’d save us a lot of time if we could move separately for now.”

“Koujaku has a point,” Aoba was quick to defend. “I don’t think we need so many people to meet a person either – a woman, no less. Let’s not waste time and go ahead with this plan.”

“Don’t worry, Aoba-san! I’ll be going with you!” Clear said with a hop.

“Haha, thank you, Clear. That’s very reassuring.”

“I’ll go too,” Noiz said, keeping away his bunny familiars with a poof and lifting his staff off the table.

“Thank you, Noiz. How about you, Mink?”

Mink considered for a few moments before he kept his smoking pipe away.

“I’ll go with the red one.”

“The red one…” Aoba smiled awkwardly. “I guess that settles it, then. Everyone, I’m depending on you.”

“You sure can, Aoba,” Koujaku grinned.

“Of course! Happy to help!” Clear bounced.

And so that was it. After a speedy stock up of items, they went on separate ways – Aoba heading towards the big mansion in the south direction with Noiz and Clear while Koujaku headed towards the opposite direction with Mink. He had no experience whatsoever on ways to talk with women but he didn’t consider himself as completely unreliable when it came to negotiations either; his experience of being a shop keeper was one that had kept his assurance in place. Clear seemed to be enjoying himself throughout the whole journey heading towards their destination while Noiz kept to himself, often looking around, a trait that Aoba had found to be of him memorizing as many details as he could take in. With Ren’s navigation, they soon found themselves standing in front of a majestic mansion, standing flagrantly on a land of its own, blood-red gradient sullying over it – a result of the flashing light from town – and creating a sort of looming atmosphere around the building. It felt like a haunted building that looked too much like a prostitution ground that had Aoba swallowing down his throat, only coming back to himself when he heard Noiz’s teasing voice by his ear.

“First time being in a place like this?”

“W-what,” Aoba stuttered. “It’s not like I have any chance to come to a place like this anyway.”

“You don’t mind, then?”

“That’s not what I meant at all,” Aoba glowered. “Anyway, it’s not like we’re here for _that_ purpose, aren’t we? Let’s just keep going.”

“Sure.”

He was certain that Noiz would mock him further if he hadn’t hushed them on so he swiftly took the lead and walked towards the door.

“Excuse me?” he called out as he knocked. “I’m sorry but we’re here to see the lady of this town, could you let us through?”

There was a split second of silence before the door was opened, revealing a timid looking girl.

“P-please come in.”

“Thank you,” Aoba smiled.

They were shepherded into what seemed to be the main hall of the mansion, the eeriness haunting them all the way as goose bumps formed on their skin. The moment they were in a big space, with only a partition separating them with the person beyond the obstacle, they were left alone, in a space that was too big and too quiet for their own liking.

“H-hello…” Aoba started, carefully. They were sure that someone sat from behind the partition – someone they knew was the lady of the town – but for some reason, she didn’t seem to possess any intention to greet her guests.

 “We’re here to request information on getting into Oval Castle,” Aoba said, right to the point.

Oval Castle was bordered by a town and a large forest; it was also the residence of Lord Toue, of whom Aoba suspected that had kidnapped his grandmother. But Oval Castle wasn’t a place one could endeavour into as how they liked. There were barricades, countless traps and many more other hazards that they had no idea of. No one ever knew how to get into the place, let alone meeting Lord Toue, and the fastest, safest way to make their way there was to seek for hints and information from people who were directly linked to him.

Flame Willow was one of the places that was known for its linkage with Oval Castle. It was precisely because of the support it held with Oval Castle that had given the town the luxury it had today. Perhaps then the relationship these two lands shared would reveal some sort of secret passage that could enable them to walk into the castle ground with no difficulties, and that was exactly the reason why Aoba was here, meeting the person who shared such relationship.

“What business do you have with Lord Toue? Want to join his force? Or to propose a business idea?”

The voice from behind the partition was one that was deeper than Aoba had expected, veiled with profound seduction that had chills running down Aoba’s spine. She seemed to be taking her own time spelling her words out, every one of it weighed with chary deliberation and clear suspicions.

“We believe he’s holding captive of someone that’s very important to me,” Aoba replied, no less trodden than the unknown woman.

She chuckled, an evident tipoff of mocking. “Lord Toue owns everything in this place. Who are you to demand things from him?”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say,” Clear spoke.

“Go back,” the woman said, visibly losing interest for any further negotiation. “I have no business with disrespectful children.”

“But—“

“Let’s go,” Noiz interrupted. “She doesn’t seem like she’s ready to listen. It’s only going to be a waste of time if we stay here.”

“But we need…”

“We can figure something out. Something else,” Noiz whispered, turning his back towards the woman. “Let’s go back and think of an alternative. Or better, ask _someone_ for help.”

Noiz was right. Staying here would only be a waste of time. With a nod, they walked out of the house, hoping that Koujaku had better luck than them from where he was working on.

 

Relentless tinkling sounds were heard as they strolled into the tavern, convoyed by thrills of conversations bartered between tables. Wrinkling his nose at the stout alcohol scent, Koujaku paced right towards the counter, followed closely by Mink, who grimaced at the sight of drunk men lurking in corners of the dark, barely lit room. The place lacked the vibrancy of the town, with just glimmers of lights from various corners. It swindled cripplingly of what their impression of the superficially exaggerated town was – one of heavy filth and undeniable corruptions. Koujaku ignored the spoor of it as he walked his way into the room, to where a bartender stood, chatting merrily with what seemed to be a swordsman traveller, and only looking up when Koujaku sat right in front of him.

“Welcome! What would you like—oh, hey!” He grinned lustrously at the sight of Koujaku, who waved and acknowledged the warm greeting. “Been a while since I saw you! Busy Knight being unapproachable as usual, huh?”

“I say the same to you, Mizuki,” Koujaku beamed. “Seems like you’ve finally settled down, huh?”

“Can’t be smothered by despair all the time, can I?” Mizuki laughed. “Just trying out stuff.”

“Doing pretty well, I see.”

“In the meantime, yeah.”

“Still thinking of returning to the Old Lands?” Koujaku accepted the cup of warm beer, seeing Mink sitting by his side from the corner of his eyes.

“Maybe,” Mizuki trailed away. “Anyway, what are you doing here? Of all places… what about Old Lands?”

“Hagima and Kou are on it,” Koujaku said with a sip of the alcohol. “I’m here for some business.”

“What kind of business?”

Putting his cup down, he stared at Mizuki, articulating the urgency of the matter he was to bring up, then continued. “I need to get into Oval Castle.”

“Wait, what?” Mizuki gaped, wide-eyed. “What business do you have there?”

“Tae-san might have been kidnapped. We need to get in there.”

“Koujaku, wait a second. You do know that Oval Castle is bad case, right? It’s… dangerous, corrupted. It’s… it’s just dangerous!”

“I know,” Koujaku raised his voice, just a tad. “But we don’t have any option left. We can’t sit around and do nothing.”

Mizuki fell silent then. Giving Koujaku a cagey look, he spoke,

“Oval Castle is… a bad place. Morphine, as you know.”

“Yeah, I do,” Koujaku repeated. “And I know that you, especially, would know the best, seeing how you’d gotten first-hand experience from them.”

Mizuki’s eyes brightened. Koujaku could see him swallowing down his throat, before he sighed.

“Yeah, terrible,” he muttered, as in attempting to find his own words. “It’s a mistake – a huge mistake.”

“A mistake you acknowledged and has overcome,” Koujaku continued. “But we won’t make the same mistake. We know what we’re getting ourselves into so, Mizuki,” Koujaku straightened up, leaning forward and putting both of his hands on Mizuki’s shoulders. “Please. We need to know how the castle works – _anything_ about the castle.”

Mizuki was obviously doubtful but Koujaku’s determination was something he couldn’t avert. He coasted his gaze towards Mink, who merely sat and listened, his smoking pipe in his hand.

“If you say so…” Mizuki said at long last. Patting Koujaku’s hand on his shoulder, he continued. “Alright then. But first, you might want to introduce me to your pal?”

It was then that it occurred to Koujaku that he’d been so engrossed with convincing Mizuki that he totally forgotten the existence of Mink, who’d tailed along.

“Ah, yeah, sorry. This is Mink, he’s part of our party. We’re to invade the castle together. This is Mizuki,” he gestured towards Mizuki’s direction. “He’s an old friend of Aoba and myself.”

“What do you mean having first-hand experience?” Mink, however, cut the introduction short and went right into the core of matters, catching both Koujaku and Mizuki off guard.

“Ah, haha, well… I used to be part of Morphine, the elite Knights of Lord Toue. I thought by joining the Knights, I’d be able to do better for the people.”

“But it turned out to be a fraud, as expected from the oh-so-mighty Lord Toue,” Koujaku clenched his teeth. “It was a hard time for Mizuki.”

“I had to take responsibility for my own decision somehow,” Mizuki said with a bitter smile. “Just glad that I managed to get out of it now.”

“So you settled down and manage this tavern now?” Mink speculated, voice a monotone.

“Kind of. I’m just trying things out.”

“It’s not permanent then?” Mink pressed.

“I might consider going back to the Old Lands, it’s where I belonged after all,” Mizuki explained. “But that would only happen once I’ve gotten everything I need here. Anyway, you wanted information, right? I might have just the right thing for you.”

He left then, walking into the back room of the tavern, then reappearing just a minute alter with a bundle of what seemed to be an old parchment in his hands.

“This is a map,” he explicated, under low-slung voice, as he opened up the parchment, revealing an old piece of map. “It’s the fastest route you could take to head into Oval Castle.”

“Wow, how did you get this?” Koujaku stared in amazement.

“I sneaked it out when I escaped,” Mizuki said. “Thought it might come in handy one day.”

“The day is today,” Koujaku grinned. “Good job, Mizuki.”

“I didn’t expect it to be sending my friends into a lion’s den, though,” Mizuki sighed. “But yeah, it’s what it is. Take it if you think it’d help.”

“Of course it would,” Koujaku said, contented, as he bundled the parchment up again and kept it safe in the depth of his heavyweight armours. “Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it. Just be careful when you’re in there,” Mizuki warned. “The whole castle is a twisted mess. Lord Toue has been experimenting with some sort of mind-controlling spells in there and I don’t want you to end up like me.”

“Don’t worry, we’ll keep an eye out for that,” Koujaku comforted. “Say, do you have any intention to join our party, then? It’d be great help if the person who knows exactly the routes is to guide us.”

“What?”

“I mean, it’s not like you have anything to do now, no?”

“I have a tavern to take care of, Koujaku,” Mizuki hooted.

“Haha, I guess so.”

“But…” Mizuki paused. “If you ever need me… maybe we’ll see how it goes. Well, you know where to find me.”

None of them said anything else after that. A hasty fist-punch later, Koujaku and Mink walked out of the shop, back into the disguised sleaze that was the street of Flame Willow.

 

Even when night has fallen, it didn’t seem like the town had any intention to slow their activities down either. The feasting continued, so as the dances in the middle of the town. Everything was starting to feel like a broken recorder at this point. No one seemed to be worrying about anything here besides what could be the next thing to do, and no one seemed to be distressing about how much they’d need to spend either. Their life course seemed to have paved flawlessly out for them and all they needed to do was to follow it and that would probably be the only thing they needed to worry about. It’s sickening, and it only reaffirmed Aoba of why he’d never want to set his foot into this place ever.

“I wonder where Koujaku and Mink are?” he pondered out loud, looking around the town, trying to spot for familiar faces in the midst of the crowd.

“They mentioned that they’re heading north,” Clear recollected, tilting his head upwards, as if trying to listen for a sign of them.

“Let’s head north then,” Aoba suggested. They made hasty steps out of where most people were and found themselves in a less crowded area, finally able to take quick breath.

“Hmm… Should we wait here or… huh? Noiz?”

While he turned around to ask his two counterparts for suggestions, he noticed that Noiz wasn’t paying attention to him at all, a rare case of its own. Instead, he was looking into a distance, at one spot where a group of people were gathered around a man – one with a tall, pointy hat, the skulls on it along the ones around his neck a protruding trademark of his.

“Someone you know?” Aoba asked, joining him to stare.

“Not really,” Noiz mouthed.

“Hmm…”

“Let’s go,” Noiz urged, finally looking away.

“What’s the matter, Noiz?” Aoba asked, hurrying after his steps.

“That man gives out an unpleasant vibe,” Noiz explained.

“Huh? He looks like a mage, though… Is this one of your mutual mage hunch or something?”

Noiz didn’t answer, but Aoba didn’t have the time to probe on him either when they found two familiar shadows walking towards their direction.

“Koujaku! Mink!” Aoba called out, effectually drawing the others attention towards himself.

“Aoba!” Koujaku waved. “Was about to look for you! How’s everything?”

Aoba groaned loudly, a clear answer of its own.

“Ah, haha…” Koujaku chuckled bitterly. “I guess it wouldn’t be as easy, huh?”

“How about your side?” Aoba asked, diverting his failure away.

“No problem,” Koujaku beamed. Pulling his armours a little apart, he showed Aoba the kept map. “I’ve gotten what we need to navigate us around the castle.”

“That’s good! We wouldn’t need to convince the lady then!” Aoba said, feeling more assured than before.

“We still need to,” Koujaku opposed. “Actually, we need something from her, something like a weapon. I thought she’d give it to you seeing how a young, adorable boy was asking for it.”

“What do you mean by that? I’m no way young and adorable,” Aoba frowned.

“Aoba-san is indeed young and adorable!” Clear complimented.

“See?”

“Okay, assuming that’s really the case, it’s not working, so we need to find another way,” Aoba nippily budged the conversation.

 “Perhaps she prefers the old and matured then, seeing how us the young ones didn’t work,” Noiz said with a suggestive glance at Koujaku’s attention, earning him an instant scowl from Koujaku.

“What do you mean old?” Koujaku growled.

“W-well! Let’s see if the more _matured_ men would work then, shall we?” Aoba quickly jumped in. “I mean, Noiz had a point. We’re both young, but she’s not interested in the slightest.”

“Not you too…” Koujaku said. “Well, I guess we’re left with no option then.”

They took the same path back where they walked; the man from before was no longer there, leaving behind a vacant space of dust and wind. The same timorous girl opened the door for them, and it took only one of her staggered look to tell Aoba enough that they were the erratic persons who’d dare to revisit the place after being kicked out of it. Nothing of the space had changed, not like Aoba was anticipating it to anyway. The partition still high, the room still reeked like thick scent of perfume, causing Noiz to pull his hood lower as soon as the door behind them was closed.

“Hello,” Aoba called out. The lady from beneath moved just a tad, her shadow only elusively visible from the translucent material of the tall partition. Smoke rose bit by bit, vanishing into thin air where she sat.

“You again. Kids nowadays are real sore losers, aren’t they?”

“My Lady.”

Her words froze in mid-air the moment Koujaku spoke, so as her actions. She turned around, as if trying to look through the partition, then stood, finally coming out from where she was sitting.

She looked as if she was in her mid-thirties, her skin fair, her long red dress dragged along the floor as she walked towards where Aoba and the others were standing. When she came close enough, Koujaku treaded to meet her, and it was then that Aoba caught sight of how she really looked like – she had long, dark hair, tied into a tall ponytail, her lips blood-red, her eyes big and round. She looked like someone who’d walk out of a red light district and earn the most glamourous title yet when she smiled, it was one that was tender, and very ladylike, very much different from how a typical impression of a prostitute should be.

“Koujaku-san,” she said, her voice sounded lighter, softer than before. “It’s been a long time.”

“Way too long,” Koujaku agreed. He kneeled on one foot, picked her hand up and kissed the back of it. “Ten years, was it?”

“Ten years and twenty days,” the lady followed.

Koujaku smiled. “You counted.”

“I always do when it comes to you.”

Both Mink and Noiz looked away at the sight, while Aoba and Clear ogled in reverence. Aoba knew that Koujaku had some sort of history with this place, and that he was always good with women. But this was the first time he was seeing a scene of how Koujaku actually interacted with one and for a split second, he thought the Koujaku he knew was of one that was a mere tip of the iceberg, even though they were technically childhood friends.

It’s a bit… unnerving.

“So are you finally back to take up my request, Koujaku-san?” the woman asked.

“Unfortunately, I still feel myself being on a status too low for you,” Koujaku held an unwavering beam, his eyes glinted with profuse determination. “But I do have a favour to ask of you, if you don’t mind.”

“A favour from Koujaku-san, huh?” the woman elated a suggestive smirk. “I wonder what it could be.”

And Aoba was _sure_ that she’d sent a glance at their direction, probably already well aware of what this entire matter was.

“We need to get into Oval Castle,” Koujaku said in response.

“So it’s the same request as the boys over there,” the woman said, now looking directly at Aoba’s direction.

“They’re my allies,” Koujaku supported.

“What business do you have with Lord Toue, if I may ask?”

“…He’s holding captive of someone who’s very important to me.”

“A woman, I presume?”

Koujaku didn’t answer, but the woman didn’t need him to. All he did was smile as the woman returned a similar gesture before she raised a hand to caress Koujaku’s bangs, fleetingly revealing the hidden marks underneath it before she spoke again,

“Koujaku-san used to be such an adorable child back then,” she said, sounding almost like a whisper. “Your mother always speaks very highly of you.”

“Thank you for looking after us back then,” Koujaku said. He wasn’t smiling anymore. As it noticing the slight hint of deviation, he continued. “You were very gentle and kind.”

“Was I? Or am I no longer so?”

Aoba and the others could only stare, deep-rooted on the ground as they listened to every word they exchanged between each other. It’s a territory they could no longer interfere but the atmosphere between the both of them was definitely eating them up, as if they were imprisoned in a barrier, unreleased until whatever conflicts that were happening between Koujaku and the woman could be resolved.

“A word of advice, My Lady, perhaps you might want to remind yourself again on what truly matters to you – people, or power?”

There was a fleeting silence in between them before the woman broke it with a laugh, one that echoed stridently around the once silent space. It only made the place eerier than it already was, chills running down his spine as Aoba took a step back, hand ready on his sword, all prepared just in case anything was to happen. But all the woman did was running a finger down Koujaku’s face again, then slithering a free hand into the depth of her dress, pulling out what seemed to be a hairpiece.

“I believe this is what you’re looking for,” she said. Without more words, she picked Koujaku’s hand up, put the hairpiece into it, and smiled. “Your mother would be proud of you.”

“Thank you,” Koujaku mirrored her grin. He leaned in, kissed her on the forehead, then retreated to where Aoba and the others were waiting.

“Let’s go.”

“Huh? That’s it?” Aoba asked, but he followed when Koujaku opened the door, walking out of the room, then the mansion.

“Our business is done here,” Koujaku responded briefly. Raising the hairpiece, he sighed. “This would bring us into Oval Castle with no problems whatsoever.”

“What exactly is that?” Mink asked.

“I’d explain but I guess you’ll get a better idea seeing it in action.”

“And you know how to use it?” Aoba pressed. They were back on the streets now, on the way back to their inn, and everything somehow felt lighter than before, despite the scent of deception still thick in the air.

“I do,” Koujaku confirmed. And nothing more. There were more things about Koujaku that Aoba hadn’t gotten to know. But more pondering wouldn’t give him the answers he needed anyhow.

Their priority wasn’t the unknowns – and Koujaku clearly knew. As they packed to leave the place, the haunting, deceptive air of a man Aoba thought he already knew very well followed them out of the arch, the remaining scent now part of them, even though they were no longer physically submerged in it.

 

 

 


	3. Quest 02: Green Lands

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something about the air surrounding the mage put his mind in the clouds. He never knew what to expect from Noiz, nor did he ever know what Noiz expect from him. But every new discovery of Noiz revealed a different world that he never thought he'd be part of -- and now would happily be.

“P! P!”

The book hovered in mid-air, pages of it flipping past at lightning speed in front of Noiz’s face, who bore a dismissive expression as his eyes glanced through the content. The first time Aoba discovered that Noiz’s book could actually _talk_ , he’d ogled amusedly at it, until when Noiz gave him a blasé gaze, then telling him that he shouldn’t be shocked seeing how his dog could literally do the same that Aoba started averting his eyes. There were too many things in this world, he was well aware of that very fact. But to witness it with his very own eyes was still something he hadn’t been able to get used to, the fact that someone had to tell him off for that being a salient impact against his own chest.

“P! P! Aoba! Aoba!”

While he roasted his dinner by the fire, ensnared in his own thoughts, one of Noiz’s familiars had approached him, burrowing against his leg and trying to climb and sit in between his thighs.

“Aoba! What are you doing?”

Did Noiz forget to take him back? He remembered seeing him teaching them new attacking stances just a minute ago, but it didn’t feel like Noiz at all to forget about something like this either.

“I’m preparing food,” Aoba smiled, helping the bunny to sit restfully in between his legs.

“Food? Usagi doesn’t eat, Usagi doesn’t know!”

_Is this bunny’s name Usagi?_ Aoba thought. With a chuckle, he towed the meat out of the red-hot flame, bringing it close to the bunny’s face, having the bunny to furrow its nose against it.

“This is what we eat to keep ourselves alive. It must be convenient if you don’t have to worry about food all the time,” Aoba ended with a laugh.

“Of course it’d be, especially for someone like you, who gets hungry literally all the time.”

Aoba turned around. Noiz stood behind him, his face presaged of nonchalance, as he gazed at the pair by the fire.

“Oh, Noiz,” Aoba said.

“You’re here. Took me a while to look for you,” Noiz diverted his gaze towards his bunny familiar, who was grasping onto Aoba’s shirt and peering at Noiz.

“Noiz! Noiz!” he bounced. “Aoba is cooking!”

“I can see that,” Noiz responded frivolously. He came close, took a seat by Aoba’s side and held a hand towards the bunny. The bunny hopped into his hand without a second thought, then snuggled in his palm, wiping his ears and rolling around.

“He seems to be very attached to you,” Aoba snickered, returning to cooking his food.

“To _you_ , more like,” Noiz corrected.

“Really?”

“This is the first time he escaped to find for someone else,” Noiz explained. With a hand stroking the soft, fluffy ear of the rabbit, he fixed his gaze on the fire, the orange-red flames reflected in his eyes.

“He’s cute,” Aoba complimented.

“Don’t give him too much credit.”

“Why not? It’s the truth.”

“…he’s just a tool.”

Aoba almost dropped the meat into the fire. Turning cuttingly around, he glowered, completely startled.

“How can you say that?”

“It’s the truth,” Noiz countered, still sounding nothing but contemptuous.

“I know, I mean…” What was he about to say again? He couldn’t disagree with what Noiz said. They were indeed nothing but familiars Noiz summoned; technically, they weren’t real, they were just illusions, beings created by Noiz for his own convenience. They weren’t at all alive, like how Noiz had put it.

But yet…

He budged his gaze to look at the bunny, who was still nestling against Noiz’s palm, looking up at him and speaking to him in flashy, high-pitched voice as if he was describing something exciting to Noiz. But Noiz showed no expression whatsoever. Merely listening, he nodded when he was asked, thumb chafing against the bunny’s forehead as he breathed a discreet hum.

“If you want one, I can summon one for you,” he finally said after what felt like an eternity long of silence.

“It’s fine,” Aoba responded hastily.

“You sure?”

“I’ll only accept one if you start treating them like actual living being.”

Noiz looked at him as if he’d never seen Aoba up close before, his shrug implied too much like profound suspicions, almost belittling Aoba.

“I guess I’ll never be able to give you one then.”

He almost wanted to call out to him, but Noiz had dismissed his familiar, stood, and walked away, leaving Aoba to stare at his waning shadow, before he was interrupted by Koujaku, whom had called out to him, asking if he needed help with the food.

 

 

Following the route Mizuki had given them led them to a land that was a drastic contrast to the one they’d stopped by before. It wasn’t a requisite for them to drop by but one virtuous glimpse at the bulbous statue standing in front of the arch – one that Aoba easily recognized as a resemblance to one of his party members – had urged Aoba to drop by, using a good ‘resting stop’ as an excuse. Noiz didn’t seem like he had any opinions about this, despite Green Lands being his hometown which Aoba had come to know of how he’d tenaciously avoided when it came to topics about his background. Even when they stepped into it, he merely followed, saying nothing much and simply allowing Aoba to take the lead.

Aoba never knew a lot about mages. For him, they’d always been in a league that’s not his to hinder. Mages are highly intelligent beings – his impression being that it’s impossible to be a mage if one did not inherit the right blood from their family, if they didn’t inherit the right talent, and if they aren’t super intelligent to begin with. Aoba never knew much about Noiz’s family either, but he could tell purely from the way he brought himself of how much of a nobility he must be. Noiz wasn’t particularly formal or polite when it came to his speech patterns and gestures, but he wasn’t particularly uncouth either. He stood in between a line he’d drawn for himself, one trait that Aoba presumed to have stemmed from his personal belief. Despite that, it’s still undeniable that Aoba knew nothing much about him, let alone anything about his hometown. That was also why despite the lack of need to stop by Green Lands, Aoba had insisted for them to rest their legs, using the day being late as an excuse not to sleep out in the cold again.

If the previous place was how one would describe of it as being extremely shady and gloomy, Green Lands was a complete contrast of it – upon entering, they were immediately greeted by two bunny statues, both standing on each side of the arch, fists raising with their boxing gloves on as if they were posing a challenge towards the visitors. The entire land – like how its name suggested – was draped in a spread piece of green: grasses grew by the sides, well-trimmed and well taken care of, as they walked on the path paving towards what seemed to be the centre of the town. Further down south led them to one mansion that gave out a sort of authority ambiance that was comparable to the one they’d experienced back in Flame Willows. Noiz wore a face of dismissiveness at all times, a direct disparity to the cheery vibe surrounding them. He didn’t seem at all pleased to be back, often being deadpanned while he watched Aoba patting the head of two bunnies, of which looked perfectly like the familiars Noiz habitually summoned, and shrugged when Aoba lifted them for Noiz to see.

“Guess we should find an inn,” Aoba said after bidding farewell to the two bunnies, only looking back at his party members when they hopped out of sight. “Noiz, do you know where to find one?”

Noiz sighed. “Down the street, turn left and—“

“Brother!”

Before Noiz could finish speaking, a flashy, chirpy voice resounded from a distance. And while Aoba squinted to find the source of ruckus, he saw a man waving happily at their direction – a man that looked oddly like Noiz.

As if answering the questions in his head, the new man dashed towards their direction, an upbeat grin spread across his face as he came to stand in front of Noiz.

“Brother! I didn’t know you’re coming back today!” he exclaimed.

“Just dropping by,” Noiz replied nonchalantly.

“Brother…?” Aoba wondered out loud.

“Oh, you have company! Sorry for disturbing,” the man beamed bitterly, scratching the back of his head. “I’m Theodor, you can call me Theo! I’m Wilh—“

“He’s my brother,” Noiz interrupted, although he was one second too late for Aoba to miss what the man was about to say.

He shouldn’t be at all astounded to know that Noiz’s family resided here, let alone being surprised over the fact that he had a brother. But seeing someone who looked seamlessly like Noiz – apart from their distinctive vibes – still made Aoba feel as if he’d discovered something extraordinary of his party member.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Aoba. This is Koujaku, Mink, and Clear,” he greeted, introducing his party members. “We’re currently on a mission.”

“Wow, a mission! Sounds interesting!” Theo’s smile brightened. “Thank you for looking after my brother.”

“He’s a handful, though,” Koujaku snickered at the remark.

“Noiz-san is a good company!” Clear followed.

“Haha!” Theo chuckled. “That’s nice to hear. Ah, by the way, since you just arrived, I assume you’re looking for a place to stay? How about our house?”

“It’s fine,” Noiz replied hurriedly. “We can manage an inn.”

“But we have extra rooms in our house. I’m sure Father and Mother wouldn’t mind guests.”

Noiz scowled at the mention of his parents then closed his eyes. Feeling the sense of awkwardness, Aoba jumped in, catching the right time.

“W-well then, since Theo offered, it wouldn’t be very nice for us to turn it down, right? What do you all think?” he asked, turning back to look at the rest of his company.

“Doesn’t matter,” Mink grumbled.

“It’s fine with me too!” Clear bounced.

“I guess we shall take the offer then,” Aoba grinned at Theo’s direction. “Sorry for the intrusion.”

“No worries at all! We’re happy to have guests!” Theo mirrored Aoba’s beam.

But the moment they approached Noiz’s house, Aoba immediately lamented his decision. Not only that Noiz’s house was _the mansion_ they’d presumed it to be the house of this town’s Chief, Noiz’s parents turned out to _be the Chief_ and all Aoba could do was blaming himself for not verifying things with Noiz before he plunged his head into this situation. Despite the vivacious air in town, Noiz’s family mansion seemed more down-to-earth, even though Aoba knew perfectly well that everything his stark-naked eyes could see were sheer deception, like how the previous town had played a trick on his mind. More rabbit statues lined the corridor as they sauntered along it, family portraits hung along the wall, a few bunny familiars carried stuff around the house, under tight supervision of what Aoba suspected to be the family maids.

The world was too huge for his comprehension, indeed.

“Please come in.” Theo opened the door for them, revealing a vast dining hall, several bunny familiars busy with putting up dishes on the elongated dining table as they stood gawking at the hallway.

“I-Is it really okay for us to stop by?” Aoba whispered. The hall echoed with their footsteps as they entered, them being the only persons in the place.

“Of course! I’ll call Father and Mother, please make yourself at home.”

It’s _impossible_ to make himself at home. This place is a thorough contrast from the world he came from and he was sure that there’s no way he would ever be able to be prepared for everything that was to happen now.

“N-Noiz,” he said under his breath, staring cagily at Noiz, who was sitting by his side, still deadpanned. “Is this why you didn’t want us to come?”

Noiz heaved a sigh. “Making you feel uncomfortable is one thing, but I honestly don’t feel like meeting my parents… for reasons.”

“Brat has some frictions with the parents, huh?” Koujaku’s voice ricocheted from opposite them as he gazed at Noiz from over the table.

Noiz frowned. “It’s not as simple as you think it is.”

“Well, I could see why you would have conflicts with your old man, though,” Koujaku retorted.

“Wow, Aoba-san, look at this! It’s so shiny I can see my own face in it!”

“Clear, careful! Don’t break it!” Aoba wheezed. Clear had saved the situation by admiring on the golden spoon he picked up, gasping as he gawked at his own reflection from the back of it.

“Anyway,” Noiz slumped against the chair, crossed his arms and closed his eyes. “Whatever it is, just don’t speak too much if you don’t know how to respond, I’ll handle the rest.”

“Please take care of us, Noiz,” Aoba slapped his hands together, almost bowing at Noiz.

Noiz, however, elevated a smirk as he gave Aoba a downward, sideway glance.

“If I do so, would you do anything I want you to do as a compensation then?”

“Huh?”

“Hey, don’t be so full of yourself.”

“Anyway,” Noiz reverted to his facetious tone, mood spoiled by Koujaku. “Just keep quiet.”

He was about to adjust himself into the situation when the door to the dining hall opened again, just when one bunny was pouring what seemed to be wine into his glass.

“You’re back.” A voice resonated vociferously in the hall and everyone tuned to see a pair of couple walking into the room. Noiz stood, accepting the greeting.

“I’m home.”

“You could’ve told us that you’re dropping by, we could’ve prepared better food.”

“Ah, it’s fine, these are fine,” Aoba said out of complete instinct.

“Haha! Is that so? How about you introduce us to you friends, Wilhelm?”

“Huh?” What was that? Wilhelm?

Noiz shrugged, before he gestured towards Aoba and his party. “This is Aoba, Koujaku, Mink and Clear. We’re traveling together in the meantime.”

“Nice to meet all of you.”

The speaking man must be Noiz’s father, Aoba concluded. While they greeted each other, none of them spoke much, besides when questions were directed to them. Aoba spent most of his time eating his food, smiling at the bunny familiar appointed to serve him and only looking up when he was being spoken to.

“It’s good to see you expanding your exposure outside of Green Lands,” Noiz’s father said, sipping on his own wine. “By this, you would be able to grow your mind and return to be a better inheritor of the family.”

“We’ve talked about this, Father,” Noiz said, sounding almost aggravated.

“And I’ve told you that your opinions don’t matter, my decision remains unchanged.”

“Let’s not talk about this now,” the lady who’d been accompanying Noiz’s father the entire time now, which Aoba presumed to be Noiz’s mother, spoke. “We have guests with us now.”

“You’re right,” Noiz’s father agreed. Emptying his glass of wine, he continued with his chocolate gelato, while his mother helped herself with some fruit frappe. “We shall talk later.”

Noiz’s frown deepened but he said nothing else, merely eating his food, pretending as if he hadn’t heard anything. The air was starting to smother them when Noiz’s parents stood, walking out of their seats.

“It’d good meeting you all today, Noiz never brings friends home,” Noiz’s mother said with a smile. “Please don’t hesitate to ask us for anything and please stay as long as you want.”

The silence spread as the couple strode out of the room, leaving behind the rest of them to stare at each other, without knowing what to do. Mink seemed to have completely given up in reacting at all as he started smoking, eyes closed. And it was one whole minute of stifling air later that Noiz voiced out.

“That’s how it is, that’s why I didn’t want you all to come.”

“It’s not that bad…” Theo fortified with a smile. “You haven’t been home for a while now. Besides, Father and Mother have been wanting to see you.”

“See me or to make me stay so I can take over this place?” Noiz countered.

“Thanks for the hospitality, Theo,” Aoba said, discerning a budding conflict. “I don’t know what happened between you and your family but I think it’s important for us to get to know more about each other. Regardless of how hard-hitting the situation could be, I’m still glad that I’m here, to know more about you. You’re an important member to me too.”

He saw Noiz dither in his movement; he seemed like he was about to say something but he did nothing in the end. Finishing up the last piece of his sorbet, he left his seat as well, seizing his staff from the side of the table and paced towards the door, a clear indication to be left alone.

“Well then, if we’re done here, I could show you to your rooms,” Theo immediately spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

They didn’t have any other options but to follow. And while Noiz was no longer anywhere near his sight, Aoba couldn’t help but wonder what was wrong with him, and if there’s anything at all that he could help.

 

He didn’t sleep well at all for the entire night, ironically so since now he finally had a proper bed to sleep on instead of grass as his mattress and rock as his pillow. He woke with sores all over his back, his limbs felt useless as he stretched, ache traveling up his spine and hitting him on the head, giving him a slight migraine. Feeling it hard to breathe, he walked out to the unobtrusive corridor with Ren throttling close to his heels, catching sight of no one and made his way out of the mansion for a quick breath of air.

“Nature is the best!” he exclaimed noisily. The sky was sunnier today, green submerged his vision the moment he stepped out of the four walls, giving him the contentment he needed. He can’t wait to go back to the forest again.

“P!”

“Huh?”

He was about to explore around the grounds when he found something pressing against his leg, looking down to see a bunny prodding against his boots.

“Aoba! Aoba!”

“Ah, you’re Noiz’s…”

Does that mean Noiz is around too, then? He looked around, finding for the hint of green, and broke into a perky grin when he found the familiar shadow, just right by the fountain in front of the house.

“Good morning,” he said as he came near to Noiz, who seemed to be reading from his usual floating spell book. “Busy?”

Noiz closed his book. “Not really.”

Without saying anything else, Aoba sat by his side as the bunny jumped onto Noiz’s lap and cuddled against it, as if asking for a pat on the head for bringing Aoba over.

“I know you said that you have rabbits as familiars because your guild worships them but something tells me it’s more than that,” Aoba strut his thoughts out loud.

“And what can that ‘something’ be?” Noiz asked, caressing the soft fur of the bunny.

“Hmm, who knows? Maybe you’ll tell me one day?” Aoba said with hidden tease in his tone.

Noiz smirked. “I’ve been thinking about this but you seem pretty defenceless about a lot of things, aren’t you?”

“What do you mean?”

“To approach someone so easily like this, and to trust someone so easily; the world doesn’t always work in favour of yours, you know.”

“I get what you’re trying to say, but you aren’t a stranger, so I don’t understand why can’t I trust you.”

Noiz paused, letting Aoba’s words sink in.

“That said, don’t think I’ve forgotten how you tried to steal Ren when we first met,” Aoba chuckled. “What exactly do you have against Ren, anyway?”

He laughed to himself as the memories of their first encounter returned to him. He’d stopped by the woods one day after work to collect herbs for his grandmother where he bumped into Noiz, who’d conjured a barrier, trapped him in it, and attempted to lure him into a spell fight which he had absolutely no idea of. Then, before he knew it, his dog was in Noiz’s hands, struggling as Noiz held him on the collar. He’d chased after Noiz then, throwing stones at his direction, and only managed to catch up to him when Ren bit him on the hand and ran away from his clutch. But ever since then, Noiz had always been around – Aoba would see him sitting on the bench outside of his house when he was to go to work in the morning, finding him tailing him and sitting in his shop, fiddling with the items in it until Aoba chased him out of it. He’d follow Aoba everywhere he went, despite not saying much. And when Aoba was to question him, all he did was telling Aoba that he wanted to study his dog, all along with a deadpan face, until Aoba shooed him away that he’d finally leave him alone.

On the night when Tae was kidnapped, he’d met Noiz when he returned after a few hours of search in the woods, having Noiz catching him in a disheartened state, then finding himself leaning against the young mage, completely fatigued. It took him a while to recover from his exhaustion, just to find Noiz sitting by his bed when he woke, looking as dog-tired as he was.

They didn’t talk much that night, a contrast to Noiz’s usual behaviour. He didn’t even touch Ren, even though Ren was pretty much vulnerable when Aoba was knocked out. It was then that Aoba noticed that Noiz really didn’t have any bad intentions, besides the fact that he seemed to have a completely different idea of how asking favours from others should work. And then, while the silence spread, while Aoba was trying to think of ways to buckle up, Noiz spoke.

“I’ll help you out,” was all he said that had Aoba staring intently at him.

“I know routes and secret passages. You’ll need my strength to break spells if you ever encounter a locked dungeon or something.”

Noiz wasn’t wrong. If Noiz was to assist him, he was sure that it’d be a great leap of strength for him – especially when help was all he needed at that point of time.

“Under one condition,” Noiz continued, as if reading Aoba’s thoughts. “You’ll let me examine the dog when we’re done.”

Aoba laughed; a laugh that he hadn’t been able to ever since the cruel truth hit him in the face.

“Sure,” he said between chuckles. “Thank you, Noiz.”

He never knew why was Noiz so interested with Ren. But he knew that Noiz would never lay his hands on Ren without his consent. Even now when Ren was literally sitting on his lap, all Noiz did was staring ephemerally at him before he returned to stroking his own bunnies, pretending as if Ren didn’t concern him at all.

“You never told me why you’re so interested in Ren,” Aoba said, upfront.

He thought Noiz missed what he said; he didn’t seem like he was paying attention either. When Noiz stood, he followed suit, assuming that their interaction here was done when Noiz finally responded.

“Follow me,” he said, then, he was walking out of the mansion grounds, with Aoba speeding up to catch up with his pace.

The place Noiz brought him to was the centre of the town, where people gathered around something Aoba couldn’t quite see. Assuming it to be some sort of show, Aoba squeezed through the crowd, all the while with his eyes on Noiz’s back, and only stopping until when they came to stand in a clear coast. In the centre of the crowd were two men, their eyes fixed on each other; they seemed to be waiting for something – for what, Aoba had no idea of.

His answer came in a form of shockwave, one that Aoba had only experienced once. Before he knew it, his surrounding changed, the town he was in turned into a sort of maze field as if he was being transported out of the place.

“Don’t worry, this is just a Rhyme field,” Noiz whispered by his side, eyes secured on the match.

“Rhyme field?”

“Mages are able to conjure barriers that allow them to fight against others without damaging reality,” Noiz explained in a matter-of-fact tone.

“So those two are fighting now?” Aoba asked.

“It’s a tournament,” Noiz said as sparks from spells conjured between the two battling mages reflected in his lime-green eyes. “We’re in town just in time to catch one of it.”

Aoba returned his attention to the match. The two mages tussled with spells, with barriers after barriers, and with their familiars as their close support when physical needs were required. Sparks and explosions quivered in his ears, tainted his eyes with white as movements beckoned in lightning speed. Everything happened in a flash, quakes reverberated strappingly around the place as spells after spells were thrown at each other. It left Aoba with no space to digest anything that was happening before his eyes as his breath was ensnared beneath his chest, his gaze fixed penetratingly on the act in front of him. Mages are powerful, it’d been an impression he held towards them ever since he first came to know about them. They were so out of reach, so magical, a being he could never come to understand. Even when he technically knew one mage himself, he didn’t feel like he knew him at all, besides the surface information Noiz had exposed him with.

It’s kind of terrifying yet captivating at the same time.

He only knew that the match had ended when the scenery relapsed back to one of Green Lands. The two mages bowed at each other, shook each other’s hands and retreated, leaving behind an empty space that was so undamaged it looked as if nothing had happened after all.

“C’mon,” Noiz nudged him on the elbow.

“Huh?”

“Let’s have a match.”

“W-wait, wait, you’re kidding, right? I’m not a mage, there’s no way I could fight you,” Aoba struggled as Noiz lugged him into the centre of the field.

“I know you’re not, but you have a very reliable assistant,” Noiz said, staring keenly at Ren.

“Ren? No way! Ren is just a dog, he can’t fight!” Aoba snapped, but before he could say anything more, Noiz had pulled up a barrier, one that was smeared green and one that looked like it’d just emerged from a primeval underground tunnel.

“Noiz… seriously…” Aoba sighed. Noiz held his staff up, two of his bunnies hopping enthusiastically around him, fists raised, all ready to fight.

“Just try,” Noiz pressed. He was still staring at Ren, who growled and stood in front of Aoba.

“What should I even do? I didn’t bring my sword out with me,” Aoba asked.

“Whatever you feel like doing,” Noiz said. “Ask the dog.”

“Ren? Do you know anything about this?”

“Not at all,” Ren replied. He was already in a fighting stance but just like Aoba, he was clearly unknown of what he should do.

“Let’s start,” Noiz said.

“P! P!” the two bunnies responded animatedly.

“Noiz, wa—“

“Loss, set.”

“Roger!”

Blinding light flashed towards his direction and all Aoba could do was dodging them until he found the breach to run right towards where Noiz was standing, attempting to send a blow in his direction but to no avail. Noiz had averted his attack and soon he found one of the bunnies punching him on the face, sending him flying to one corner.

“Aoba!” Ren rushed towards him.

“Ouch, that hurts,” Aoba snarled. “Noiz! Are you serious about this?”

From a distance, he could see Noiz pulling up a smirk, then a light came rushing towards him again, which he managed to dodge.

“Seriously…” he cursed under his breath. Panting, he ran, all the while thinking of a retaliation, and was just about to escape to an opposite direction when his route was blocked by Noiz’s rabbits.

“No escape! No escape!” they bellowed, sending Aoba a thump that had him tumbling and rolling from one corner to the other.

“Isn’t this supposed to be an alternate reality? Why does this hurt so much?” Aoba moaned as he supported himself up, chafing on the bruise on his face where he was hit.

“I’ve deactivated that function specially for our mater,” Noiz explained, hearing Aoba’s question.

“You’re a sadist,” Aoba glowered. “What have I done to you that you need to do this to me?”

“Like I said, use the dog,” Noiz insisted.

With a grunt, Aoba started running again, with Ren shadowing faithfully to him.

“Aoba, what should I do?” he asked.

“I have no idea,” Aoba said, honest. “Do you know anything about yourself? If you’re involved with a mage or something…”

“Not that I can remember of,” Ren responded.

“Then I—woah!”

An impact hit him right on the stomach, his conscious wavering out of sight as his back hit the wall of the barrier, head drubbing with intense pain.

“Aoba!”

Through his half-clear vision, he could see Noiz approaching, his breath stuck in his throat when he did as much as wanting to speak. He saw Noiz raise his staff, chanting, and knowing that he would be in deep trouble if he didn’t do anything to save himself now.

“Ren,” he said through guttural voice, acting completely on instinct. “Jubilation, set.”

“Aoba?”

He couldn’t quite remember what happened after that, his memory in a stupor. His head pounded with intense ache that he swore he could’ve passed out the moment he saw a splash of blue that was sparked by his own language. When he woke, he was lying on a bench, his surrounding back to normal.

“Wh—ouch!” The moment he tried to sit up, electric shocks impelled throughout his body, his limbs numb and his vision flickered white. He pressed a thumb against his temple, finally able to open his eyes after a few deep breaths.

“Noiz?”

Noiz sat by his side, completely unruffled, as if the match that’d occurred between them was simply a dream.

“What happened…? Ah, Ren!”

Ren lied by his side, unconscious. With a nervous sprint, Aoba carried him into his hands, stroking his head.

“What did you do to him?” he snapped at Noiz.

“Nothing,” Noiz said. “He fell unconscious after you won the match.”

“I… won?” Aoba muttered. “What do you mean?”

“It’s like what I said. You won the match.”

It’s impossible. He couldn’t remember anything, let alone being able to recollect ever beating Noiz.

“I told you,” Noiz continued. “Regardless if you want to admit it or not, you’ve clearly done this before – you must have. And your dog,” he lifted an eye at Ren, who was sleeping soundly in Aoba’s embrace. “is not just a normal dog.”

“What do you mean?” Aoba asked.

“You have potential,” Noiz reiterated. “As a mage, that is. And your dog is a familiar as well, if you haven’t already noticed.”

“What?” Ren, a familiar? And him, as a mage?

“That said,” Noiz lifted his staff, then pushing it into Aoba’s hands. “I can teach you a few basic spells, just to safeguard yourself. They might come in handy.”

“Wait a minute,” Aoba shuffled. “Are you sure this isn’t a mistake? I mean, me, as a mage? No way.”

“You’ve proven it very perfectly in that match,” Noiz countered. “Though I wouldn’t say that you’re excellent yet, but nothing a few practices won’t fix.”

This must be a joke, Aoba thought to himself. Noiz must be mocking him. There’s absolutely _no way_ that he could be a mage.

“Anyhow, why not you just try out some spells first to tell if you’re really a good fit for it?” Noiz suggested. “No harm learning new things anyway, right?”

He was so certain that this was a mistake. But the way Noiz spoke sounded serious, nothing like the sarcastic mock he used to give Aoba just to fluster him. Feeling the heaviness of Noiz’s staff in his hands, Aoba considered, wondering if it’s worth a try. He didn’t know since when did Noiz notice this potential of his, or if this was the sole reason why he decided to tag along. He didn’t know how to feel about Noiz’s intention to make use of his potential – or whatever it was called – instead of helping him out just because he’s a friend.

If he was to reject him now, would that meant that Noiz would leave him too? Just because he no longer had any needs for him?

No way. He couldn’t allow himself to leave Noiz, nor could he allow Noiz to leave him now. Not until they could come to know better about each other.

“I’ll learn,” he said, firmed. “In exchange, you’ll tell me more about yourself, is that okay?”

Noiz stared at him in disbelief. He seemed to have spoken something completely out of his expectation but then, Noiz smiled, one gesture that had Aoba’s heart skipping a beat.

“Equivalent exchange, huh? There’s nothing interesting to know about me but if you insist,” Noiz said.

“Okay then! But before that, let’s go back to the mansion. Everyone should be awake by now, and I’m hungry, I need to eat,” Aoba grumbled. He returned Noiz’s staff to him, stood up and carried Ren carefully in his arms.

There were still many things he never knew about Noiz and he never knew how he could make Noiz to open up to him better. But now that the chance had fallen upon him, he knew that this could be something he could use to his own advantage – not only to know more about Noiz, but also to help him if he could, what with the obvious struggles he had with his family.

And maybe as a start, he could take his own initiative and allow the bond to be strengthened further with one way he knew would always work with Noiz – by making Noiz the donuts he was so very much fond of ever since he first tasted them in his house back in the Old Lands, on the following morning when Tae was kidnapped.

It was the first time he felt as if he truly knew Noiz after all – and if he tried just a bit harder, he might even come to acknowledge things about himself that he never knew.

 

 

 


	4. Quest 03: Night Valley

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He only knew Mink as the quiet person in his party, keeping thoughts to himself but yet a powerful fighting force of his own. But an unexpected turn of events revealed a part of the man he never knew, and never expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Focus: Mink

Fire crackled in a secluded corner, projecting long shadows around the area. The glistening light casted by the flames pirouetted across the shadowy trunks of the trees, twisting and crimping in obscure shapes and providing a small radius of light, illuminating objects around it with gradient-light rays. He’d habituated himself with sleeping out in the cold. Nestling under a dappled tree trunk, Aoba turned around, eyes shut, listening to the scrunching of burning thorns. Everyone else had settled for the night; a long day of trekking and fighting beasts in the forest had worn them out in ways they’d never imagined. He should be very tired, but yet…

He turned again, facing the only source of light as he opened his eyes, gaze insentiently searching for the garish fire that was also his only source of warmth.

Only that the flame wasn’t the only thing he found himself squinting at the moment he opened his eyes.

“Mink…?” he muffled under his breath. Sitting up, he rubbed a knuckle against one eye, trying to make out the shadow of the biggest man in his party.

Mink sat by the fire, completely soundless, and only looked up when Aoba tugged his blanket with him then sitting by his side.

“Can’t sleep too?” Aoba asked. It was spellbinding to watch the fire in close range, the colours of orange and red gave way to yellow and white near the center, where the emanating heat was the greatest.

When Mink didn’t answer, Aoba shunted his attention away from the flame, gaze dropping at Mink’s hands instead as he ogled, wide-eyed.

“I… didn’t know you read.”

In Mink’s hands was a thick book of what seemed to be a documentation of the history and legend of one specific tribe that Aoba hadn’t gotten the time to decipher the name before Mink closed the book and laid it out of sight.

“Sometimes,” Mink mumbled in response, pulling out a smoking pipe in the next second.

“I see.” It’s a surprising discovery, but, intuiting a chance to know more about Mink, Aoba persisted. “So you read when you’re free?”

Mink puffed smoke out of his mouth, the colour of his eyes illuminating the dancing flames in front of them.

“I’ve never gotten the chance to read a lot,” Aoba said, discerning the rigid air in between them. “Well, I’d rather someone reads to me because I don’t know how…” he paused, eyes lingering on the thick book. “…could someone handle so many texts at the same time.”

“You only need to concentrate,” Mink said, catching Aoba in surprise. “Let the words talk to you.”

“Oh…”

 _How?_ He didn’t ask Mink. Mink seemed to be coddled in his own thoughts while Aoba considered; he was pretty sure that Mink wasn’t joking around with him but he simply couldn’t put his hands around it. Asking Mink was surely the most sensible solution to his tousled thoughts but asking him also meant persisting him more than he already did so he decided to let the case rest, making a silent resolution at the back of his mind at the same time to ask Mink one day, when he came to know more about him.

“Go to sleep,” Mink said at long last, picking up his book and keeping his smoking pipe away.

“How about you?” Aoba asked. He heaved the blanket, draped it around his body, and stood up, following Mink.

“I’m sleeping too,” Mink said fleetingly, settling himself under one of the bigger trees and leaned against the trunk, eyes closed.

A few moments of staring, convoyed by a small smile, Aoba returned to where he was sleeping, snuggling under the blanket once again, the cinnamon smell lingering in the air acting as a soothing remedy to lull him into sleep.

 

* * *

 

 

“Aoba, behind you!”

Aoba dodged instinctively as a long spear slid past his face, just inches away from his skin. He dashed towards the assailant, kicking him in the stomach, had him flying and thumping his back against the tree trunk before he met backs with Noiz, who had his staff held high, his familiars bouncing around with their summoning circles.

“Get Ren to fight,” Noiz urged as he conjured what seemed to be a transparent barrier between themselves and three other assaulters.

“No way,” Aoba growled, kicking away a slimy monster at the same time.

“He’s a familiar,” Noiz reminded.

“Even if you say so, I don’t know how to fight with him yet,” Aoba snapped. “Not going to involve him in any of these until I figure out how to best fight with him.”

He heard Noiz click his tongue, followed by a gaudy impact that sounded like hard material hitting against hard material, then turning around to see Noiz punching a bird-like monster out of the way.

“Woah, you can use fist too.”

Noiz looked at him with visible dissatisfaction written all over his face. Then, as if demonstrating his point, he sent another blow at one of the raging birds, sending it rolling from one end to another.

“I’m better in physical fights than conjuring spells,” he concluded, adjusting his cloak and raising his staff again.

“I… I see,” Aoba managed a bitter smile.

He seized onto his sword tightly, aiming an attack at one assailant just to find Mink slashing his way in and effortlessly defeating the armored man.

“Mink!”

“We’re just about done here.”

He was right. A speedy glance told Aoba enough of how they were close to clear the entire ground. Koujaku, who was sitting on his griffin, sent an ending blow towards one of the unctuous monsters Aoba was facing difficulties pulling his leg off. Clear was singing, supporting Koujaku, and the rest of the part stood with him, waiting for everything to settle down.

“Do you think we are attacked more and more frequently these days?” Koujaku groaned, putting his sword back into its stealth.

“It could be a trap,” Noiz followed.

“But we’re following Mizuki’s map, no?” Aoba started, pulling out the map as he checked on the landmarks.

“Indeed,” Koujaku confirmed.

“Could it be a trap too, that map?” Mink said.

“No way!” Aoba bellowed.

“Mizuki wouldn’t betray us,” Koujaku said, sternness evident in his voice. “I’ll defend him with my life.”

“Ah, I guess we have no other choice but to move forward!” Clear quickly interrupted. “Besides, I trust Mizuki-san, didn’t he already warn us about this before?”

“And it’s not wise to be suspicious over things we have no evidence of either,” Aoba said, still reading the map. “I trust Mizuki, and I trust that we’d be able to work better if we could stop going down each other’s throat.”

None of them said anything after that. Aoba had been particularly casual with them throughout the entire journey, but he also had a way of dealing with clashes like this, often shutting them up competently as he lugged the authority back to him. He might not have noticed it himself but he had been the reason why everyone in the party was still intact – how this party, made up of people from different walks of life, was still functional. They didn’t need to be particularly friendly with each other but for some reason, they were able to work together when the time called for it, something that they needed no instructions for. So the moment Aoba raised his voice, they said no more, retorted no further, merely going back to doing what they were focusing on, and sweeping all distractions aside.

“The map says we should continue north,” Aoba read, tracing a finger along the speckled path on the map before he heaved a sigh. “More muddy trails.”

“There should be a shortcut,” Mink said, with Aoba turning around just to see him glancing at the map from behind him.

“Do you know the direction?” Aoba asked.

“Kind of,” Mink said briefly. He pointed at a passage away from the dotted lines. “Here, we can open up a path from this bush area.”

While Aoba nodded, Noiz came over, joining them to study the map.

“This would lead us into Night Valley,” he said.

“Night Valley?” Aoba wondered.

“Night Valley is under Toue’s protection, we’ll need to watch our steps too if we want to check it out,” Noiz said, deadpanned.

“There are probably more monsters lurking around there,” Mink said in a flat tone.

“Many guilds too,” Noiz added with a suspicious look at Mink’s direction.

“For all I know, the valley has very strong connection with the Old Land too—“

“—some are spies for Toue—“

“—we might get some information about what really happened in Old Land before and after Toue took control of the place, which I think a specific someone would be very interested in.”

Both Mink and Noiz’s shifted their attention towards Koujaku, who was patting his griffin on the head, acting as if he’d never heard anything.

“Anyhow,” Aoba said. “There’s no helping if we need to pass through it, might as well make it worth it.”

He knew how heated Koujaku could be when it came to matters of the Old Land, to the extent that he’d decline Lord Toue’s offer as Knight of his castle and settling himself into protecting the small, abandoned land with two of his counterparts. But Aoba never knew what had prompted him to be so protective, never had he asked him as well.

It wasn’t a coincidence, it was necessary. Them having to stop by the Night Valley must mean something to them. So there was no need for them to hesitate. They simply needed to move forward. The path leading towards the valley wasn’t at all welcoming, the shortcut that Mink had drawn for them even more so. There were no signs of civilization in the wilderness, the path snaked its way through the blanket of grass. All of them walked in silence as they climbed their way, then descending down slopes that almost had Beni rolling off it. Monster attacks, as expected, hid in every corner they could and couldn’t imagine; their nerves constantly on alert. Scratches were made, bruises were patched on their skin, but they took no resting steps as they made their way through the bumpy path, only coming to a clearing when it’s nightfall.

Night had fallen fast upon the land. Just less than an hour ago the sky was splattered with hues of red, orange and pink, but that vibrancy had now stonewashed into a matt black canvas with no stars to look upon. Harsh bite of the wind slashed past their clothing, leaving marks in the form of small shunts on their skin as they wriggled to find for a hint of warmth. For some reasons, this place was way colder than places they visited before. It could be because of how it’s fenced and shrouded by tall mountains that was the cause of the hoarded chills, but there’s no way they’d be able to survive the night if they were to keep themselves out in the cold like this.

“We need a cave, or just… somewhere warmer,” Koujaku said through gritted teeth, pulling his cloak firmer around himself at the same time.

“I’m freezing!” Clear shivered.

“Yeah,” Aoba agreed, the only word he could manage as he hugged Ren close, his primary source of warmth.

“Can’t you… put up a barrier or something, brat,” Koujaku asked, earning himself an instant ice-cold glare from Noiz.

“Magic is not for the convenience of some selfish old men.”

“You—“

“Shh.”

All of them held their breath. In the midst of their quarrels, something else had invaded their privacy. They heard movements in the bushes, shadows hiding from behind them, all staring at their direction. Immediately going into their defensive stance, they stood as men emerged from the greens, their weapons held high.

They looked like nothing but normal villagers.

“What business do you have here?” a young man started, his sword raised at their direction, clearly hostile.

“We’re just passing by,” Aoba explained.

“Leave now,” another man said, who was holding a stick. They didn’t seem at all friendly; something Aoba had been expecting. While he tried to think of further conviction, one man stepped forward, having the Aoba and the rest to prepare themselves for a possible round of uproar before the man said,

“You’re Mink, aren’t you?”

Now all the attention was on Mink, including ones of his own party members.

“You’re from that village that got wiped out, no?” The man’s face came into focus, faint moonlight shining upon the gradient of his features, giving them a good view of his expression.

“The village? The one beyond the mountain?”

Murmurings resounded around them, eyes were on them, but Mink stood firmed, not an ounce of expression had changed on his face. Aoba could tell that he was thinking, possibly trying to search his memory of a familiar tipoff of who this person could be.

“What business do you have with us here?” the earlier man asked, although sounding less antagonistic than before. There must be something that had happened to Mink in his past that had tinted this layer of almost-pity expression on the villagers’ faces. Aoba wondered if Mink would ever tell him, but even if he didn’t, it wasn’t his place to ask anyway. It didn’t matter to him – whatever that had happened in the past could stay in the past, where they should belong.

“Like he said,” Mink responded with a gaudy voice. “We’re just passing by.”

“And where are you heading to?” the man asked again, clearly hadn’t put his defense down.

Mink paused. With closed eyes, he released a sigh.

“Toue’s castle,” he said briefly. But that seemed to be enough for the man to keep his weapons away, with the rest of the villagers following suit.

“It’s late,” the man said at long last. “We have a place to stay, you can head our first thing tomorrow.”

With the stepping back of their leader, the other villagers retreated, leaving Aoba and his party to stare at their backs before they hurried to follow their tracks.

Night Valley was like how its name suggested – the canyon path they set foot upon was narrow and uncivilized. Bushes grew all over the place, leaving the minimal road for the path itself. Dirt road twisted around ancient, withering trees. They pulled their cloaks closer to their bodies as they trod up onto the sand-strewn rock; wind whipped, howling, pushing their bodies towards the edge. The few minutes of mountain walk had their skin freezing under intense chills, and the moment they found themselves swathed in heat in one of the houses they were led to, it felt as if they’d found themselves in Heaven.

“You can stay here,” the same man who’d led them there took his coat off, hanging it on the back of the door and staring as the five men cramped into his small hut.

“I’ve got nothing much to serve you,” he said, sitting on his bed and lugging his boots out of the way. “Soup? I’ll get you blankets but I’m afraid you’d have to sleep on the floor tonight.”

“It’s fine,” Aoba hastily said. It’s more than enough for him to provide them with this source of warmth after all. “Thank you very much for accommodating us.”

The man kept to himself, but Aoba clearly noticed how he’d sent a glimpse at Mink’s direction before he stood up and strolled into the kitchen, leaving the rest of Aoba’s party to settle themselves in the house.

“Mink, do you know that person?” Aoba asked a question he’d had buried within him since they first set foot in the place.

“No,” Mink replied in an instance.

“They probably know you then,” Noiz followed quietly. Sitting in a corner of the room, he rubbed flakes off his familiar’s head, not looking up.

“You’re from that tribe, then?” Koujaku said, a question Aoba couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of.

“What’s this all about?” he finally asked.

“You’re from the tribe that got wiped out years back, aren’t you?” Koujaku repeated, this time, looking directly at Mink’s direction.

Mink, however, said nothing, neither a confirmation nor a disapproval.

“I didn’t know there were survivals from that massacre.”

Everyone looked up upon hearing the new voice, just to see the man coming back with a tray of soup.

“Only one,” Mink said at long last.

“So the reason you are heading towards Lord Toue’s Castle is…”

The man left his words unfinished. The rest of their night was spent on warming themselves up, settling themselves down, and hitting the sack. Mink wouldn't tell them even if they were to ask, so no one said anything. Aoba was well aware of it; in fact, a bit too much so. But he’d heard of enough information from the man to know the tip of the iceberg. He’d known that Mink’s willingness to join them was due to the fact that he needed Aoba’s assistance for his personal mission, something Aoba hadn’t gotten the full details of up to this date. Despite having this unswerving hunch that Mink would eventually tell him, this situation seemed to have given it a good push, providing enough hints for Aoba to be even more curious than he already was.

He turned around, covering the blanket up to his face as he peeked at Mink’s back shadow from underneath the thick woolen material. For some reasons, despite Mink’s dismissiveness and reluctance to open up, he couldn't find any reasons to be suspicious towards him. He would never expect him to betray them, and the intention to help was genuine, as much as his intention to head up to Toue’s Castle himself.

And for some reasons, he felt himself coming closer to him, even when all Mink did was giving him the usual treatment he was very much accustomed to – the close yet far distance they often shared.

 

* * *

 

 

He woke when the first ray of sunshine poured into the room through the gaps of loosely closed windows. Sitting up, he scrubbed a knuckle against his eye, yawned softly, looking around and brightening his eyes when he noticed Mink, who was supposed to be sleeping just a short distance away from him, was nowhere to be seen. The others were still bundled under their blankets, soundly asleep, and with a hasty glimpse at the scene outside of the window, it dawned upon Aoba that he’d probably woke earlier than he was expected to.

Making as little sound as possible, he tiptoed across the room, picked his sword from a corner, and tottered out of the house.

The dawn sun peered through a foggy screen of clouds, mist obscured his vision just ever so slightly as he struggled his way through puddles of water. The weather was as cold as the night before and while he was on the verge of regretting his decision, he found a shadow sitting just by the riverside, urging him to swallow the intention of returning back down his throat as he rambled towards where the man sat.

Mink was used to be seen sitting by himself, meddling on things Aoba had no idea of, and often surprising him when he was to peek at what he was doing.

Including this time.

He was sure that Mink had noticed his presence by the trifling budge he did when Aoba came closer. Yet, he said no words, merely indulging in whatever he was doing until when Aoba inched closer that he looked up.

“Those are…” Aoba mumbled through a hoarse voice. The frostiness ate into his skin as he tried to figure out the tiny, tantalizing bead-like pieces Mink was holding in his hands.

“Ornaments?” He’d never seen a lot of them before but he remembered once when Haga-san, his former employee, brought a box of it into the shop and had Aoba arranging them onto the shelves. They weren’t as delicate as the ones Mink was holding, though. And definitely not crafted as detailed as of how Mink was doing it.

“Yeah,” Mink replied, flat, taking Aoba on surprise.

“Are you making something?” Aoba asked, finding a rock to sit by Mink’s side as he continued staring.

“Yeah,” Mink repeated. He’d resumed doing what he was doing before Aoba interrupted him but it didn’t take too long before he broke the silence between them, which had slowly but surely turning as cold as the weather around them.

“Why are you up so early?” he asked, without looking at Aoba.

“Huh? Oh, haha, I didn’t know why myself,” Aoba said with a bitter chuckle. He was very much aware of how tough it was for him to wake in the morning; he couldn’t blame Mink to be at all surprised at this abnormal behavior of his.

“I’ll be done soon,” Mink said.

“It’s fine!” Aoba immediately exclaimed. “Take your time, don’t mind me.”

Even when he said so, he could clearly see the reluctance in Mink’s expression, then his actions, before he found Mink inching towards him and showing him what he’d been doing all this while.

“I’m making jewelry,” he said, while Aoba gawked at the crystal-blue beads in his hands.

“A bracelet?” Aoba fathomed.

“A necklace,” Mink corrected.

Well, this sure is a surprising part of Mink he never knew.

“Is it a gift?” Aoba asked, totally throwing his question out without a second thought.

Mink, however, didn’t answer. Merely minding his own business, he allowed Aoba to hang around as he worked on the item. Aoba never asked why Mink was interested in what he was doing and he had no intention to do so either. He simply endeared the idea of being able to engross himself in looking at how Mink worked – the tantalizing actions of his when he handled the ornaments, the serious yet gentle expression he wore on his face as he concentrated on his work. He forgot about the cold, about how harsh the weather was, and only came back to himself when Mink kept the stuff away, then stood up.

“Huh? You’re done?” he asked, following suit.

Mink merely nodded.

“I have somewhere else to stop by, you can go back first.”

“Mind if I tag along?” Aoba asked instead. And before Mink could answer, he quickly continued. “Well, it’s still early and the others probably aren’t awake yet. I have nothing else to do either so—“

“Follow closely,” Mink disturbed. “There’s a bit of hiking to do, make sure you don’t lose your tracks in the woods.”

He had no idea whatsoever of what Mink wanted to do or where he wanted to go. For a split second, he wondered if it’s a good idea to follow Mink after all, a person he had absolutely no clue of. But the moment Mink started walking, he followed on impulse, reluctance thrown aside, his focus solely on catching up with Mink, right into the abundance of the forest’s green.

Mink paced as if he knew the place perfectly. Aoba questioned nothing, merely following. A couple of times he thought he was losing Mink but as he made hurried steps, he’d soon find Mink stopping just a distance ahead of him as if waiting for him. The mountain path was steep and slippery and soon, Aoba was grappling onto Mink’s arm, balancing himself as he wriggled through the journey. The torturing hiking adventure came to an end when they treaded into a better-lit clearing. The sun had risen by now, rays of them illuminating the spotless patch of the space, droplets of morning dew glimmering exquisitely under the morning light. Mink obviously knew the paths; Aoba was sure of it. And he only became more convinced when he strode towards the center of the space, jaw-dropping at the sight in front of him.

What lied in front of his vision was a field of tombstones, all looked rusted, ancient, and worn out. He’d never seen such quantity of tombstones before, and he wondered if he was even allowed to set foot into such a sacred place.

Was this why Mink had wanted him to go back earlier? Had his persistence backfired this time?

“Mink, this is…” he dawdled.

“This is where my tribe and family lie,” Mink said, still with a deadpan voice, despite the irony of what he was speaking about.

He didn’t know what to say after, merely watching as Mink towed grasses off the sides, wiping the tombstones clean with a ragged cloth he pulled from a porch around his belt. He couldn’t make out the words on the tombstones either; they looked like they’re originated from a language he never knew. He was completely awestruck, riveted by the way Mink appeared so unruffled despite handling something that could be awfully devastating.

“You heard what the others said,” Mink said after he was done with the brief cleaning up. “A tribe was wiped out a few years ago, by none other but Toue.”

It was Mink’s side of story that he’d always wanted to hear, and he surely didn’t expect the truth to be revealed to him in such a fast, unexpected way.

“I’m the sole survivor of the tribe,” Mink explained, taking his smoke pipe out and sipping on it. “My entire tribe, my parents, and my sister were all killed on that very day.”

“I’m…” He wanted to say that he was sorry, but the word barely made it to his lips before Mink turned around to look at him.

“That’s not the only reason why I need to find Toue,” he explained. He really didn’t need to.

Regardless of what intention each of his party members had, Aoba wouldn’t judge them for it, even when he knew that most of them – like Mink and Noiz – tagged along for their own personal reasons.

“It’s fine,” Aoba said. He’d feel bad if Mink were to say more. “I’m grateful that you decide to tag along despite your own circumstances, and I don’t care what motives you could have.”

He was _sure_ that Mink had just smiled – just a bit – before he looked away.

“The red one was right,” he said. “Your naivety could kill you one day.”

He knew they meant no bad intentions when they put it that way but he couldn’t change how he was like anyhow. It was just how he was. He couldn’t quite explain how he felt towards his party members but he trusted his own instincts. And it was always what that had been pulling them together after all.

“You bear a scent that’s very similar to me,” Mink continued, placing a hand on top of one of the tombstones. “Death.”

His heart skipped a beat. Was that Mink’s impression of him all this while? Because he could see how easy it was for him to be murdered during this journey? Did he appear this weak in Mink’s eyes? Was it pity that was another reason why Mink decided to tag along?

But why? Why would Mink care about someone like him? Someone he barely knew?

And why would Mink associate him with death?

“That’s probably why we’re stuck with each other now,” Aoba said. There was this peculiar sense of agitation that was boiling within him, something that he knew he’d regret if he didn’t throw it out now.

“To stop that from happening.”

He was _sure_ Mink was smiling now.

“We shall see,” he simply said. Dimming his smoke pipe, he stared transitorily at the tombstone again, clearly considering.

“I think your family wouldn’t want you to be dead as well,” Aoba broke the pause. “Maybe that’s why you’re alive – to live for them, not to die for them.”

Mink made no response whatsoever but Aoba knew that he was listening to every word he was saying. Everything that he’d come to know about Mink’s tribe came as a shock to him, but then again, everything was in the past, even though whatever happened wasn’t exactly thoughtful of him. The path they were stepping on now was none other but a present they needed to embrace. Regardless of how they choose to live, it’s undeniable that challenges would always exist to haunt them, to test them, to make sure that they grew stronger from every decision they made.

And he wanted to tell Mink exactly that; even when his decision was resolute – even when he’d still choose death in the end.

“I don’t want you to die, at the very least,” he continued. “There are… other ways to repent for what you couldn’t change and death isn’t the only answer.”

He didn’t expect Mink to listen to what he had to say. But his hunch told him that if he didn’t say these now, something would change, and even if he did, something else would change too.

“It’s late, let’s go back.”

He nodded. Did his voice reach Mink? he wondered. And how long more would Mink stay with him until he decided to seek out his ultimate motive?

Whatever that was.

Their journey back to the hut was yet another challenging one as they made sloppy steps down the mountain, away from where Mink’s tribe was buried. He wouldn’t know if following Mink changed anything between them but he was certain now that he’d come to understand Mink better, something _in_ him had changed – something that was sure to help them move forward better.

“Shh.”

They came to an abrupt stop, Mink holding out his hand to stop Aoba from rolling down the mountain. While Aoba tried to understand what was going on, a dagger flew towards his direction, almost stabbing him in the face if Mink hadn’t lugged him back on time.

He grasped his sword, looking around, attempting to find the attackers, just to find two other daggers aiming at his face again.

“Down!” Mink said, dragging Aoba down at the same time. They trundled a few feet down the hill, standing up just in time to see a group of six men, all wearing white, blazing coats, masks on and daggers in their hands.

“Is this one of those hidden spies Noiz mentioned?” Aoba asked, sword raised, all ready to fight.

“Seems like it,” Mink confirmed.

“Then all we need to do is to defeat them,” Aoba said.

“Yeah. You take the left, I’ll take the right.”

“Got it.”

With a smirk, he charged towards the men, with Mink running in the opposite direction. They were tough, definitely great with physical confrontations. They moved as if they were programmed, their actions calculated, easily predicted, giving Aoba a great pushing hand because the moment he’d gotten familiar with their moves, he kicked them in the guts, hit them with the back of his sword, and knocked their backs to the ground with hasty, swift movements; all his actions smooth and practiced.

Mink seemed to have no difficulties fighting the assailants either. The three men he’d defeated lied by his legs as he kept his own weapon away, having Aoba to do the same with his sword.

“Why are they after us?”

“You, or me?” Mink questioned. “Check their bodies. Would be handy if we could get a hint of who they are.”

Aoba did as what he was told, but there was nothing on them that could suggest who they could be. They found a few more daggers, all weapons, and the only fruitful catch in the depth of their clothing was a map that looked as if it was leading them to somewhere they had no idea of, but definitely off the course of their initial route.

“Let’s go back. Maybe someone would know what this is all about,” Mink hectored with a wave of the map in his hand.

They were nearing Toue’s Castle now. At this point in time, Aoba wasn’t even sure if whatever that has happened was aimed at them, or if they were mere coincidences. For all he knew, it could be a trap – perhaps Toue had already noticed them, perhaps he was already targeting them, tailing them, planning to get them out of the way.

But one thing for sure was that he wasn’t alone, especially so when now he’d come to know more about Mink – about how he was as human as he always thought he was.

 


End file.
